Grant Hill Names Jaylen Brown as LA Olympics 2028 Candidate despite Recent Affairs

Jaylen Brown’s exclusion from the Team USA roster for the Paris Olympics sparked a massive controversy. The Finals MVP did not make the initial 12-man roster and was overlooked for Celtics teammate Derrick White when Kawhi Leonard withdrew citing injury concerns. Brown and USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill have called each other out over it, but the latter is willing to put it all behind them.

During an appearance on Open Run with Rachel Nichols, the Hall of Famer claimed he’s already envisioning what the roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics would look like and the Celtics superstar is among the names he’s considering. Hill said,

“I’m confident he and I will sit down at some point and talk about it and get to some level of understanding. Look, he’ll be a candidate if he wants in ’28… One thing I’ve learned. You can’t take anything personal in this role. And so, I haven’t personalized anything. My goal, my objective is to win. As soon as hopefully that happens, we pivot and start looking ahead to the future.”

He added that he informed Brown and a handful of other stars, including Paul George and Damian Lillard, that they wouldn’t be a part of the Paris Olympics roster. He claimed that given their stature, he owed them an explanation about the thought process behind putting the roster together as they had made themselves available to represent Team USA in France.

Brown did not make a fuss when USA Basketball announced the initial 12-man roster for the Paris Olympics in April. However, in the lead-up to Leonard pulling out in July, the Celtics forward had won the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP. If any player withdrew their participation, he rightly felt he should’ve been the first choice to take their place.

However, Hill and the thinktank opted to call up White, which left Brown baffled. He believes there’s no sporting reason for a Finals MVP to be overlooked and a forward to be replaced by a guard. He felt his longstanding beef with Nike was why he wasn’t picked when Leonard pulled out.

Hill dismissed the Celtics forward’s claim as a conspiracy theory, which infuriated him further. Brown called him out X, writing,

“Grant Hill calling me a conspiracy theorist is disappointing I’ve been a VP [of the National Basketball Players’ Association] since I was 21 years old I have a great understanding.”

Hill has now extended an olive branch and it remains to be seen whether the incensed superstar takes it.